Dear Editor,

In 1966, before most of your readers were born, I came to Rwanda to teach English in the Petit Seminaire Rwesero. The language of instruction in secondary schools at that time was, of course, French but many of my students made good progress in English.

There may still be one or two in the country who remember reading through "Animal Farm” by George Orwell and "St Joan”, the play by George Bernard Shaw.

I am sure I made many mistakes in my teaching methods - I also taught Religious Studies and had great fun working with paint and clay with the younger classes—but I left Rwanda in 1971 with an abiding love of the country and its people.

I had the privilege of visiting again in 2005 and was astonished by the changes that had taken place. But the school on the shores of the beautiful Lake Muhazi still welcomed me.

May the teaching of English progress but may students never neglect the beauty of their own language and the age-old traditions of Urwanda wacu!

Kevin Hartley
(also known as Musore)